Renaming 'Jamie': Letter

Sir: Your articles about the High Court ruling against Michael Howard's 15-year tariff on Robert Thompson and Jon Venables (3 May) refer to the murder of "Jamie" Bulger. The child's Christian name was James: this is what his parents and relations called him, and how they always knew him. "Jamie" is a media coinage: it is the name, not of a real boy, but of an icon or emblem. To continue using it is not only disrespectful to the Bulger family. It also prevents us from thinking wisely and dispassionately about a case which involves the fates of two other young children.

Blake Morrison

London SE3